Feb. 1, 2003 - Dubbed "The Toast of the Town" in 1980s-era television and radio ads, it's now been years since anyone raised a glass at the Maxim. 

These days, though, there's plenty of glass being razed at the shuttered Flamingo Road hotel-casino just east of the Strip. Now in the early stages of a $40 million renovation, the property's new owner is modernizing the nearly 25-year-old building in preparation for a scheduled July 1 debut as the Westin Casuarina Hotel and Spa. 

Since December, workers have been removing interior fixtures as well as the Maxim's signature glass facade. Richard Kannapell, regional director of sales for Columbia Sussex Corp., said the project is currently in its "demolition phase," coupled with some exterior work that has gradually brightened the site. 

"We're basically gutting the entire building," said Kannapell, whose privately held, Kentucky-based company purchased the hotel in September for $38 million. 

Within the next few weeks, the Maxim's outdoor sign will be replaced with a renovated display featuring the Westin logo. In addition, a model room will be available to the public in late February. 

Once open, the new hotel-casino will include an expanded, 10,000-square-foot meeting area as well as an all-new, 11,000-square-foot spa, Kannapell said. Westin's trademark "Heavenly Bed" and "Heavenly Bath" features will also be included in each hotel room. 

Remodeling will also increase the property's guest room total from 795 to 825. Although the company has not finalized its rate structure, Kannapell estimated that rooms will likely rent from $50 to $199 per night, depending upon the season and day of week. 

Unlike some Las Vegas landmarks whose glory days have passed, the Maxim was not considered a target for implosion because Columbia Sussex felt that option would have been too expensive and time-consuming. 

"We want to open this year. If we'd imploded it and had to clear the site, we couldn't have opened until at least July 2004," Kannapell said. 

Columbia Sussex operates about 60 hotels in the United States and several overseas markets, Kannapell said, including the Horizon Casino Resort in South Lake Tahoe as well as a sister Westin Casuarina property on Grand Cayman Island. 

Columbia Sussex's casino management company will operate the new Las Vegas casino, which is expected to open with the hotel in July. Occupying less than 15,000 square feet, Kannapell said the casino will serve as an amenity rather than the hotel's primary attraction. 

Westin is a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, a White Plains, N.Y.-based hotel chain that operates more than 750 properties in more than 80 countries. In Las Vegas, the company previously owned Caesars Palace and the Desert Inn but has not had a presence in Nevada since it sold the Desert Inn to casino developer Steve Wynn in June 2000. 

Starwood sold its Caesars World division to Park Place Entertainment in December 1999. 

Located at 160 E. Flamingo Road, the 795-room Maxim opened in 1979, closed in November 1999, and reopened without a casino the following month. It began its current closure in August 2001. 

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